Chapter 4

Chapter FOUR What in the name of batwings...?' muttered Dad. He marched along to the bathroom, his black cape flapping behind him, as bubbles puffed out of the door in great clouds. 'Wait!' I called. 'It's really slip—!' 'ARGHHH!' I hurried along the landing, swatting

第四章以蝙蝠翅膀的名义……？爸爸喃喃地说。 他大步走向盥洗室，身后的黑斗篷飘动着，门里冒出一大团泡泡。 “等等!”我叫。“真滑——！”“ARGHHH !”我急忙沿着楼梯口拍着

away the bubbles. 'Dad! Are you all right?' Dad was sitting on the bathroom floor, rubbing his hip with one hand, and waving his other hand about in the air to try and pop as many bubbles as possible.

把泡泡吹走。“爸爸!”你没事吧？”爸爸坐在浴室的地板上，一只手揉着臀部，另一只手在空中挥舞着，试图吹破尽可能多的泡泡。

He kept muttering lots of short, sharp words under his breath. But the more he popped the bubbles, the faster they appeared! Dad gripped the rim of the bath and pulled himself to his knees. Then, through the popping of the bubbles, I heard him pull the plug out of the bath and the water start to drain away.

他不停地低声咕哝着许多简短而尖锐的话。 但是他吹得越多，泡泡出现得越快！爸爸抓住浴盆的边缘，跪了下来。 然后，在泡沫的爆裂声中，我听到他把塞子从浴缸里拔出来，水开始流出来。

'Maybe that will help,' he said despairingly, crawling back across the floor. 'But I don't know how to fix fairy magic... Let's just close the door. I'm sure the magic will wear off soon, won't it, Isadora? Does fairy magic usually... stop?' 'Sometimes,' I shrugged. 'Maybe.' 'Right.' 'I'm sorry, Dad. I was trying to be helpful for Mum, and I've made a problem for you...' 'You're very sweet,' said Dad, closing the bathroom door firmly. 'But there's really not much you need to do for Mum. She just needs rest.

“也许这能帮上忙。”他绝望地说着，从地板上爬回来。 “但是我不知道如何改变仙女的魔法…… 我们把门关上吧。 我相信魔力很快就会消失的，对吧，伊莎多拉？ 精灵魔法通常… 停止?“有时候，”我耸耸肩。 “也许吧。“正确。“对不起，爸爸。” 我只是想帮妈妈的忙，却给你制造了麻烦……“你真好，”爸爸说着，关上了浴室的门。 “但是你真的不需要为妈妈做什么。 她只是需要休息。

'OK,' I said, in a small voice. Dad put his hand on my shoulder. 'It's easy to get so carried away trying to make someone happy that you forget to listen to what they actually want,' he said. 'I once bought Mum a whole box of delicious vampire chocolates, filled with red juice for our wedding anniversary!' 'But Mum hates red juice!' I gasped. 'Exactly,' said Dad. 'I was so busy thinking about what I would like to receive as a gift, that I forgot that fairies don't like red juice. I giggled. Dad always has a way of making me feel better about a mistake.

“好吧，”我低声说。 爸爸把手放在我的肩膀上。 他说：“人们很容易忘乎所以地试图让别人开心，而忘记了倾听他们真正想要的是什么。” “有一次我给妈妈买了一整盒美味的吸血鬼巧克力，里面装满了红色的果汁，作为我们结婚纪念日的礼物！”“但是妈妈讨厌红果汁！”我喘息着说道。 “没错，”爸爸说。“我正忙着考虑我希望收到什么礼物，我忘了仙女们不喜欢红果汁。 我咯咯笑了。爸爸总有办法让我对错误感觉好一点。

'I wish I could do something helpful though,' I said. Dad's face suddenly lit up. 'Actually,' he said. 'There is something you could do. Something very helpful!' 'Ooh, what?!' I asked. 'Anything!'

“不过我希望我能帮上忙，”我说。 爸爸的脸突然亮了起来。 “事实上，”他说。“有件事你可以做。 非常有用的东西！“哦，什么？！”我问。 “什么!”